The best evidence for the existence of intelligent life

The best evidence for the existence of intelligent life in the universe lies in the fact that they have steadfastly refused to contact us.

— Richard Boyd

I saw this quote as a letter-to-the-editor in one of the San Francisco Bay Area papers several years ago. I love the twisted logic and the inherent presumptions that it contains. Some attempts at logical arguments for the existence of God share these logical fallacies.

I do not know who Richard Boyd is. At the time the newspaper simply indicated that he was from Berkeley. A quick Google search yields a philosophy professor at Cornell who previously taught at UC Berkeley. Could be. In any case, it is a delightful quote that I have repeated dozens of times.

Thank you Mr. Boyd.

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